


Foreign Soil

by lilpocketninja



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-22
Updated: 2014-10-22
Packaged: 2018-02-22 03:52:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2493395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilpocketninja/pseuds/lilpocketninja
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Fire Nation's Earthbending prince begins his quest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Foreign Soil

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Floranna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Floranna/gifts).



The ship pulled out of port in the early morning with little fanfare; only Azula came to see them off. She watched with a crooked smile as they slipped from the shallow harbor with only the creaking and groaning of a sixty year old warship to accompany them. Zuko watched her in return until she faded, along with his home, into a smudge in the fog.

When he reached out for the Earth, felt nothing but the faintest echoes from below the waves like the after-images of a candle burned into his eyes. Zuko lasted three days before he woke up screaming for the crew to set a course for the Western Air Temple.

When they arrived, he stumbled - did not walk regally, there was no time for that - down the gangplank and felt his feet touch the ground for the first time in days. Even through shoes, it felt like a song. Zuko closed his eyes and pictured his mother, as she had been the week before she disappeared: smiling with secrets in her green eyes and whispering Earth in Zuko’s ears until they could both dance the foreign katas together. 

“What a stunning view,” Uncle said, from behind him. 

Zuko barely heard him, but he made a noise that he hoped sounded like agreement. 

“I know that you’re hoping to find the Avatar here, but I think you should take some time to rest.” The old man touched his shoulder, jarring Zuko out of his private memories and back into the real world. 

He gripped the railing in front of him and felt the earth quake beneath his feet as he _wanted_ : to rest, to be at peace, to never again feel as cut off as he had in that awful week at sea. He could set up camp here, with the funds they were provided, and never move again. He could grow old with his feet in the grave dirt of a thousand Air Benders. He might be happy, eventually. Uncle certainly would be.

But Zuko was the son of the Fire Lord. More importantly, he was the son of Ursa: the minor Earth Kingdom princess, sacrificed to bank the conquering flames of the Fire Nation. Ursa, the mother who had taught her son of their shared gift in a foreign land. Ursa, who had killed a Fire Lord to save the first born son not even eligible for the throne. She would not allow herself to be moved from her path, and neither would Zuko. As the dagger at his ankle said: never give up without a fight.

Zuko let go of the railing.

“Exactly what I would expect from the laziest man in the Fire Nation,” he said. His voice cracked, but perhaps Uncle hadn’t noticed. “Order everyone back to the ship.”

“Yes, Prince Zuko.” Uncle said. 

Zuko was first up the gangplank, but he stayed at the railing for a long time as the Temple disappeared from view. When he returned to his cabin, long after it had faded, he found a small pot sitting in the middle of his mattress.

A quick glance inside confirmed what Zuko already knew: it was filled with earth. He scooped it into his hands and danced the foreign katas alone.


End file.
